Over 100 migrants drowned off Libya shores, survivor says

CAIRO – A survivor of this week's deadly migrant boat disaster says over 100 migrants drowned off the Libyan coast when their boat lost its engine shortly after starting their perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea.

The 31-year-old Gambian migrant told The Red Crescent's branch in the Libyan city of Zawiya, where 74 bodies washed ashore on Monday, that the boat was packed with 133 people, only 24 of whom survived.

He said that the migrants sailed on Saturday from a spot west of Tripoli, the Libyan capital, and because of stormy weather and darkness, panicking migrants rushed to one side of the boat near the engine, causing it to dip below the water and stall.